Best Replacement OB Preamp For Lakland 55-94

Just wondering. I do not think that the Bart preamp on my Lakland does the SD's any justice. I feel that the Bart preamp sounds thin and transparent. Looking for a more deep and maybe scooped sound. I dunno. I want to get me new Demeter HBP-1 in first before I make any descisions. But, I still would like your opinions. Thanks.

Are your SD's the Alnico pups? I'm changing my Barts out and putting in SD's alnico pups. I've got one in so far. I need to identify and purchase the SD J-bass pup that best matches. Maybe all you need to do is change the pups?

The Bartolini preamp is pretty versatile. Have you tried experimenting with the DIP switches in the control cavity to change the midrange frequency that you're adjusting? That can make a big difference. Also, maybe you just need different strings.

Changing the preamp is pretty drastic, especially when you have tone controls on your amp to work with too.

Opening up this old thread... don't usually hang aroung the basses forum too much (I get all the GAS I can handle from Amps and Effects!).

I just got a used 55-02, and while I do love it, I'm having the same issues with the Bart preamp as I did with the 2 band Bart preamp I had installed on my Thumb a while ago when the MEC preamp died. The bottom end is kind of wooly, and it's hard to have a lot of bass boost onboard without it seeming boomy.

Has anyone replaced the onboard preamp on a 02 or 94 model?

I'm sure replacing the preamp will have more of an effect than replacing the pups, that's certainly what I noticed on my Thumb when I pulled the Bart pre out, leaving the Bart pups in, and put a U-Retro pre in.

Originally posted by g4string Just wondering. I do not think that the Bart preamp on my Lakland does the SD's any justice. I feel that the Bart preamp sounds thin and transparent. Looking for a more deep and maybe scooped sound. I dunno. I want to get me new Demeter HBP-1 in first before I make any descisions. But, I still would like your opinions. Thanks.

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id try a stock bart pre rather than the one lakland specs out. the basses ive played with stock bart pre's sounded more alive than the electronics in the lakland i had.

Just a thought. Try a Sadowsky preamp/DI. They're great for all your basses and I'm sure you'll love the tone. It will keep you from altering your bass and keep the resale strong if you decide to sell some day.

Arent thier dials inside the control cavity for the ouput level of the pre-amp? If their is, you might want to try to adjust the output level of the pre-amp. If not, sorry.

I have a USA Lakland 55-63 with BassLine single coild pick-up & Lakland Bart pre-amp. The bass sounds really nice but when I run it passive & run my Sadowsky pre-amp, it sounds better. More bite & clearer & crisper. The notes seem to be alive.

I also tried the Sadowsky onboard with a Lakland SkyLine 44-02 that has the BArt J/MM & Lakland Bart pre-amp & I found the opposite to be true. IMO, it seemed that the Bart pick-up & pre-amp seems to work very well together.

Hey g4string, Usually when I feel that my basses aren't sounding too hot & I think of doing expensive mods, I put a fresh set of strings on the bass. This might be an inexpensive fix to your problem.

FWIW, I took all the Bart preamp stuff out of my Lakland 55-01 and put a Sadowsky preamp in there. I like the Sadowsky preamp a lot, just a couple of field effect transistors, no integrated circuits. It gets a big, hi-fi sound.

I did this before Roger started selling his preamp separately, so I took my old-style outboard Sadowsky preamp apart and bought some new pots with longer shafts to go in the bass. I also did a shielding job with copper tape, and paid a lot of attention to star grounding.

Personally I don't miss the midrange controls. Having played a P-bass for 30 years, I tend to find one sound that I like and stick with it. The Sadowsky bass control is lower than most at 40Hz, and is quite effective at dealing with room boom.